Tonights Game ... With a win tonight against Appalachian State, the Bucs would earn their first four-game win streak of the season ... The four-game streak would match the longest since head coach Ed DeChellis arrived at ETSU ... The Bucs accomplished the feat three times in 1998-99 ... ETSU returns home after capturing two consecutive Southern Conference road wins and have won three Southern Conference games in a row ... Senior D.J. McDuffie will play in his 100th career game tonight.
Off to a Good Start ... With the 62-55 win at Western Carolina (Jan. 13) the Bucs climbed above .500 for the first times since opening the season with a win against Lynchburg (Nov. 17) ... The 8-7 start matches the Bucs best beginning under head coach Ed DeChellis (1998-99) ... After 15 games last season, ETSU was 5-10 ... The Bucs are 3-1 in the Southern Conference, their best start since going 5-1 to start the 1994-95 Conference campaign.
Stingy Defense ... After 15 games this season, the Bucs rank third in the Southern Conference in field goal percentage defense (40.2 percent) and fourth in scoring defense (66.7 ppg) ... ETSU has not allowed its opponent to convert 25 field goals in 10 consecutive games ... The Bucs have allowed its opponent to shoot above 45 percent only once in the past six games ... After four Conference contests, ETSU is holding its opponent to 39.2 percent from the field.
Three Stars in Conference Games ... Seniors Renaldo Johnson and D.J. McDuffie have teamed with junior Dimeco Childress to lead the Bucs to their 3-1 start in Southern Conference play this season ... Childress leads the Bucs with 12.0 ppg and a team-high 31.8 minutes/game in that span ... Johnson ranks second on the team with 11.2 ppg and leads the team with 18 field goals and 6.0 rebounds per game ... He is shooting 60.0 percent from the field (18-of-30) and 64.3 from the free throw line (9-of-14) ... Despite coming off the bench in all four games, McDuffie ranks second on the team with 29.5 minutes played ... He ranks third with 11.0 ppg and has gathered 16 rebounds and dished five assists.
On His Way to 1,000 ... Senior D.J. McDuffie needs 130 points to become the 21st player in ETSU history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark ... With 12 regular season and at least one Southern Conference Tournament game remaining, McDuffie has to average 10.0 points/game to reach 1,000 ... The Greensboro, N.C. native, has netted 870 career points (124 as a freshman, 298 as a sophomore, 313 as a junior and 135 as a senior) ... Trazel Silvers is the most recent entrant to the 1,000 point club, tallying 1,257 career points fom 1991-94.
Stealing from the Opposition ... The Bucs have produced more steals than its opponent in six of the last seven games and nine times this winter ... ETSU has 130 steals (8.7 steals/game) while the opposition has thieved 99 (6.6/game) ... ETSU ranks third in the Southern Conference in steals/game ... Senior D.J. McDuffie leads the Bucs with 23 steals (1.5 steals/game) ... junior Cliff Decoster ranks second on the team with 19 steals (1.4 steals/game).
Southern Conference Leaders ... After 15 games this winter, ETSU ranks among the Southern Conference leaders in many categories ... The Bucs lead the Conference in rebound margin at +5.2 rpg ... ETSU ranks third in scoring offense (73.5 ppg) and scoring margin (+6.7 ppg) ... The Bucs are also third in turnover margin (+1.87) ... ETSU ranks second with 15.33 offensive rebounds per game, including 21 at Western Carolina (Jan. 13).
Individual Leaders of the SoCon ... Junior Dimeco Childress ranks ninth in the Southern Conference in scoring (14.7 ppg) ... Childress ranks second in 3-pt. field goals made/game (2.40) and sixth in 3-pt. percentage (40.9 percent) ... His seven three-pointers at Vanderbilt is the most prolific in that category this season ... junior Cliff Decoster ranks 14th in assists/game (3.07) ... senior D.J. McDuffie ranks 11th in steals per game (1.53).
Starting Lineups ... The Bucs used the same starting lineup in the first five games and have used the same lineup in each of the last nine contests ... Records of starting lineup: (Decoster, Childress, McDuffie, Meeks, Johnson - 1-4 / Games 1-5); (Decoster, Childress, Carson, Johnson, Seels - 1-0 / Game 6): (Decoster, Childress, Lawson, Meeks, Johnson - 6-3 / Games 7-15).
In the Southern Conference ... ETSU is 28-37 (.431) in the Southern Conference since head coach Ed DeChellis took over in 1996-97 ... The Bucs are 3-1 this winter ... ETSU opened this winters campaign with 11 consecutive non-conference games, going 5-6.
Success in Johnson City ... Since Coach DeChellis arrived in 1996-97, the Bucs are 37-20 (.649) in 57 home contests .... ETSU is 4-2 this season and was 8-5 last season, 10-4 in 1998-99, 9-3 in 1997-98 and 6-6 in 1996-97.
The Double-Double Club ... Junior guard Dimeco Childress entered ETSUs double-double club with a 15-point, 11-rebound performance in a 73-63 win at James Madison (Dec. 30) ... senior center Renaldo Johnson was the first member of the double-double club for the 2000-01 season ... Johnson netted 12 points and grabbed 10 boards in the 87-76 loss at Vanderbilt (Nov. 24) ... During the 1999-2000 season, Leo Murray led the team with six double-doubles while Adrian Meeks notched the teams other three double-doubles.
On Television ... The Bucs have two scheduled appearances on television during the 2000-01 season ... Their TV debut came on January 2, 2001 when ETSU fell at Chattanooga, 67-58 ... ETSU will also be televised when it hosts College of Charleston at 7:30 p.m. on February 6 ... Both games are carried by Comcast/Charters Sports Southeast (CSS).
The Head Coach ... Fifth-year head coach Ed DeChellis has compiled a 57-69 (.452) record at ETSU ... He has tied Jim Halihan for the fifth most victories by a Buccaneer head coach ... Madison Brooks won 370 games from 1948-73 ... DeChellis came to Johnson City after 10 years as an assistant at Penn State University.
On the Bench ... Joining head coach Ed DeChellis and second-year assistant Hilliary Scott are two new assistant coaches for the 2000-01 season ... Tom Conrad comes to ETSU after serving the past four years as head coach at Charleston Southern ... Conrad led the Buccaneers to their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid in 1997 ... Scott Wagers also joins the staff, after serving as a high school head coach for the past nine years ... Wagers compiled a 120-24 record at Robinson High School in Tampa, Florida in his five-year tenure.
The Buccaneer Radio Network ... WJCW-AM is the flagship station of the Buccaneer Radio Network. The network will broadcast every mens basketball game and the coaches show. Chip Kessler will serve as the Voice of the Bucs.
Medical Report ... Freshman point guard Sam Oatman has missed the last two games with a hip pointer ... He is questionable for tonights contest.